Herpes simplex virus (HSV), which includes both herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV2), presents a serious health concern to those infected by the virus as well as to uninfected members of the population. A great deal of effort has been expended to identify effective therapeutic compositions and methods to alleviate symptoms and reduce or eliminate viral flair-ups in which the dormant virus becomes active and presents itself as sores on the genital or oral tissues. In addition, vaccines are under development to prevent infection in uninfected individuals. One type of vaccine under development is a subunit vaccine containing purified glycoprotein D (gD). The gD protein may be derived from HSV-1 (gD-1) or HSV-2 (gD-2).
While such therapeutic compositions and vaccines may offer some benefits, there remains a need for effective compositions and methods of immunizing individuals prophylactically against HSV infection and methods of treating HSV infected individuals. There is a need for compositions and methods for making such prophylactics and therapeutics.